We know that kids love to play games, and so do many adults. However, older teens and young adults are in an awkward stage where playing games can be mortifying. This is especially true in English class when you’re trying to be suave in front of your peers. However, suitable grammar games can break the ice and make English classes fun, memorable, and interactive.
Great grammar games for high school and college students include online and hands-on options. Free grammar games online include those on offer by NYT, Duolingo, Johnny Grammar, and English Club. Hands-on grammar game examples include Scrabble, Pictionary, Criss-Cross, and Jeopardy variants.
Some of the games are available online, and others are hands-on. A creative teacher can modify games to suit the needs and resources available to her. Additionally, games can be themed to correspond with the students’ interests.
Let’s look at some online and hands-on grammar games for high school and college students.
Online Grammar Games For High School And College Students
Online grammar games can be helpful in classes with wi-fi for the students’ devices or an interactive board in the classroom. Students can compete with themselves, in groups, or in pairs depending on the game chosen.
Some online grammar games record the player’s statistics, which can be a valuable means to track progress or increase the game’s competitiveness. Read on to see a list of free online grammar games for high school and college students.
New York Times Grammar Games
New York Times offers a few online games that are free to play without a subscription. The free games they offer are Wordle, a Mini Crossword, Spelling Bee, and Letter Boxed.
Wordle
Wordle is a game where you have six chances to choose a 5-letter word. Each time you enter a word, you will receive a confirmation if each letter is in the word (orange), if it is in the correct place (green), or if the letter does not feature in the word at all (gray). Students can guess the word in six attempts or less by using a process of elimination and their vocabulary knowledge.
Since Wordle has become so popular, spin-off versions are available, but not under the NYT site. One such game is Dordle, where you have to identify two words in seven guesses, and Quordle, where you must guess four words in eight attempts.
The Mini Crossword
The Mini Crossword on NYT is a quick crossword puzzle that should take only a few minutes to complete. Students can compete against each other to see who finishes it within the shortest time while using their knowledge of vocabulary and learning some facts in the process.
Letter Boxed
Letter Boxed is a game where you are given twelve letters around a square. Players must use all the letters within a limited number of words. Letters on the same side of the square cannot be used consecutively, nor can they be repeated successively.
As an extension activity with Letter Boxed, students can compare their words and get points for longer words. Alternatively, students who use all the letters in fewer words can earn more points.
Spelling Bee
Another spelling game on NYT is Spelling Bee. In Spelling Bee, a player is given 7 letters to build as many words as possible. The highlighted letter must appear in each word, and all words must be four letters or longer. Smaller words get fewer points, and a Pangram that uses all seven letters gets you 14 points.
If you subscribe to NYT games, you can move on to Genius Level in Spelling Bee. However, it is still possible to guess as many words as possible until prompted to subscribe.
Grand Grammar Game
Grand Grammar Game is a two-player game that will test the players on verbs, adverbs, pronouns, plural nouns, and predicate agreement. Additionally, Quia’s website allows subscribers to create their own activities, so teachers can personalize tasks for their group.
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Woodward English
Woodward English is a website that offers a long list of grammar games for all ages. The games cover grammar rules and are alphabetically ordered, so teachers can easily find lesson-related games. One such game is the Present vs. Progressive Tense game which is suitable for students in higher grades.
Johnny Grammar’s Word Challenge
Johnny Grammar’s Word Challenge is a British Council game that covers spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Obviously, certain words will be spelled in British English, but the benefits of the game could outweigh this. Each animated quiz is 60 seconds long, and players must answer as many questions as possible.
English Club
English Club offers over 1000 free grammar games designed for older ESL students. Most of their games are mobile-friendly, and they have a list of resources for creating resumes, business English lessons, and appropriate English for work.
Free Rice
Free Rice is a synonyms game where players are asked to choose a synonym from four options. While the game isn’t very challenging for adults, playing it is for a good cause. You earn rice for the United Nations World Food Program with every correct answer.
Hands-On Grammar Games For High School and College Students
In classrooms where a lot of work is done on interactive media such as tablets, laptops, or phones, hands-on grammar games are a fun opportunity for students to interact with one another and do group activities. Below are some popular hands-on grammar games that can be played in a high school or college English lessons.
Your Dictionary Grammar Games
Your Dictionary is a teacher-support site that offers free ideas and resources. In addition, they have a list of hands-on grammar games suitable for high school students. The fun yet simple games come with instructions and free printable resources needed for the game, if necessary. The games are adaptable, and some have extension activities for advanced students.
- The five grammar games they suggest include the following:
- Grammar Jeopardy
- Grammar Trading Cards
- Rolling for Prefixes (downable net for a prefix di supplied)
- Sentence War (with a customizable spinner)
- SWAT
Whodunnit Games
Using games like Cluedo or Alibi as an example, whodunnit games focus on past simple and past continuous verb tenses. No materials are required for the game. The teacher must create a crime and an alibi. The class should be split into two groups – the detectives, who ask the questions, and the suspects, who defend themselves with an alibi.
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20 Questions
Another questions-based game is 20 questions, which can be adapted for all themes and lessons. In 20 questions, students must ask closed-ended questions (with yes or no answers) to guess a noun – usually an object, place, or person.
20 questions has many variants. For example, a student can have a post-it on their back or forehead with a word, but they need to find out what that word is. They then have to ask questions to determine the word.
Heads Up!
Ellen DeGeneres created an app called Heads Up!, which is played similarly to 20 questions, except students must use descriptive language to describe the object without saying its name. Included are more than 40 themed decks, with the choice of customizing decks to suit the lesson. The game is timed and colorful and a lot of fun to play.
In the absence of smartphones, the teacher can use post-its instead. The students can take turns describing the word on their partner’s forehead without saying the word or term directly.
Free Grammar Game Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers
Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) is an excellent site for teachers to share their ideas and earn money. However, some resources are free or have mini-trial versions to try out.
Below are three grammar game ideas available on TpT. They come with instructions and free downloadable resources, where necessary.
- Active Learning for Conditional Tenses – be prepared to sing some Beyoncé!
- Confusing Words Jeopardy – comes with a free 25-page resource.
- Criss Cross
Board Games
Finally, there are good old-fashioned board games (and their online variants) that students can play to boost their grammar. Examples include Scrabble, 60 Seconds, and Pictionary. And don’t forget Charades for some real giggles if the class is up to it.
Conclusion
Many games can be considered childish by high schoolers and college students, so choosing appropriate games is essential. Grammar games are a fabulous way to build team spirit and boost the fun levels within an English lesson, provided the teacher chooses wisely. So, the teacher can include online or hands-on grammar games to make lessons more enjoyable.
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